The Lion’s Mate

Mark leaned forward and took her hands in his. “Leah, this is fantastic!”

“You’re happy?”

“Why are you surprised? We’ve talked about how I want a family,” Mark reminded her. “I didn’t expect this to happen now, but I’m not at all upset that it has!”

“So you want this?” Leah was skeptical. Even though she’d told herself not to, she had imagined this conversation. None of her scenarios had been anything like this reality.

“Of course I do!” Mark squared his shoulders. “Leah, I am in love with you.”

Leah’s eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock. “What?”

“I love you. I’ve known for a while, actually, but I knew you weren’t ready.” Mark kissed her knuckles, a smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’m still not ready,” Leah said, pulling her hand free and standing, her dinner forgotten. Mark watched her, amused, as she began to pace. “I mean, how can you love me? We’ve known each other a month.”

“Love doesn’t know time, Leah,” Mark replied facetiously.

She tilted her head at him, a look of irritation on her face. “Don’t be cute.”

“You know I can’t help being cute.” A thought popped into his mind. “Can you imagine how cute our baby will be? So beautiful the sun will never set, considering who her parents are.”

Despite the freaking out that wanted to happen in her brain, she smiled at his comment. “She will be the most beautiful creature on earth, human, shifter, plain old animal.”

“She? Do you know it’s a girl?” Mark asked, standing to take her hands, glad the freak out had been halted.

“Well, we won’t know from the sonogram for a week or two. But I just fell it, you know,” she answered.

“When are you due?”

“Around five weeks, give or take. The doctor said all shifter/human babies make their own schedule.” Leah smiled and touched her belly gently.

“Can I touch your belly?”

Leah laughed. “Mark, you’ve touched every inch of me. Of course you can touch my belly. But she isn’t kicking or anything like that.”

“Shifter pregnancies are short. I bet you feel her in the next few days,” Mark said as he massaged her belly. He knelt on one knee and placed his ear against her belly, listening intently. He smiled and looked up at her. “I know I can’t hear her, but I like to pretend.” 

Leah smiled back at him. “You’re goofy.”

Mark made a decision. “Marry me.” Leah stepped back instinctively, and he lifted his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. It just felt right. I’ll get a ring and do it again the proper way.”

Leah had started shaking her head as he spoke. “I’m not ready for that at all, Mark.”

“Okay. I’ll let it lie for a bit. But we will discuss this again, Leah,” Mark told her as he climbed to his feet.

“Not today,” Leah told him. “Let’s finish eating, okay? I’m starved. We can talk about names,” she said with a smile.

He giggled like a little boy with a new toy. “Names? Should we think of boy names too? Or just girl names?”

Leah laughed. “I don’t know for sure it’s a girl. I just have a feeling.”

“But a mother’s instinct is usually spot on. My mother taught me that,” Mark assured her as they sat back down and began to eat. “Speaking of my mother, she’s been on me about taking you up to meet her and my father.”

Leah choked on her pasta. “What?”

Mark was amused again. “My parents. I’ve told them about you and they want to meet you. My mother even read your books so the two of you would have something to talk about. She’s like that.”

Leah nodded. “Parents are weird.”

Mark laughed loudly, so loudly, in fact, that Jenny walked into the dining room to check on them. He called, “Come here, Jenny. You’re going to have a sister. Aren’t you excited?” he said as he pet her. Her tail wagged and she grinned her doggy grin at him. He continued petting her but returned his attention to Leah. “We’ll be the weirdest parents around. Just ask our daughter. Or son.”